Yogurt aficionado Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is asking Russia to allow a shipment of Chobani brand Greek yogurt for U.S. Olympic athletes’ breakfast into Sochi.
The senator penned a letter to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach in hopes of resolving the customs mess, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported Tuesday.
The yogurt has been wasting away in Newark International Airport in New Jersey, Schumer said, because Russia won’t allow the shipment to go through without “unattainable” customs certifications. “I understand the need for high food safety standards for dairy products,” he wrote in the letter, as quoted by the Democrat & Chronicle. “However, the U.S. government has confirmed that sanitary standards have been met to ensure that this yogurt will be safe for consumption by American Citizens attending and participating in the 2014 Winter Olympics.”
“With the Sochi Olympic Games starting at the end of this week, there is simply no time to waste in getting our Olympic athletes and employees a nutritious and delicious breakfast – Chobani Greek Yogurt,” Schumer said in a statement, as quoted by the newspaper.
Chobani’s plant is located in central New York.
